Carolina North begins lengthy construction

Progress is finally being made on the construction of a second UNC campus in Chapel Hill after eight years of planning and delays.

The Carolina North project — a mixed-use research and academic campus extension of UNC — will not be complete for more than 50 years.

Anna Wu, the University architect, spoke at an annual update of the project Monday. She said the completion of an underground pipeline that connects waste gas from the Orange County Landfill on Eubanks Road to a new generator at Carolina North and converts it into clean energy was a large accomplishment this year.

“The generator is active, and currently, the power it creates is getting put back onto the Duke Energy grid,” Wu said. “Eventually, as we build out Carolina North, we’re going to capture that and use it to supply hot water to the buildings.”

The landfill pipeline is located along a corridor that will also be home to a 10-foot-wide greenway for community members to cross the campus from Homestead Road to Municipal Drive.

Construction of the greenway has already begun and includes areas of both paved and natural surfaces. Particular care was taken to place the greenway to protect the area’s water sources, steep slopes and hardwood forests.

“One of the big accomplishments this year was to get the conservation easements recorded,” Wu said.

Although no concrete building plans have been made, 200,000 of the first 800,000 square feet of construction will be designated for housing, Wu said.

Maria Palmer, a candidate for Chapel Hill Town Council, attended the event and said she hopes the Carolina North project will also include affordable housing for University employees.

“If we want to continue to attract talent with the salaries here, we need to offer some benefits,” she said. “One of the huge benefits is living in town. I know young faculty, for example, can hardly afford to rent.”

Palmer said she also hopes there will be ample bicycle parking to ease the strain of added traffic in town.

Despite an uncertain timetable for construction, Wu said she is confident in the groundwork that has already been laid out.

“Even not knowing what year we’re going to break ground, we’ve got good, solid planning principles,” Wu said. “This is an open framework that will support a multitude of programs that will be there to serve the academic mission of the University at the time that it starts.”

Bruce Runberg , the associate vice chancellor for facilities services, said he thinks the lengthy planning process will ultimately pay off for Carolina North.

“It’s a product that I think we can use and that someday — we don’t know when — will unfold,” he said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed and pray that the economy continues to improve.”

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